Poem: If Only (Meenakshi Mohan)

Meenakshi Mohan

If only …

Let me forget for a moment --

The perils of the world,

disease and pandemic,

 war and destruction,

the sobs of a nine-year-old child,

in a war laden country,

soaked in the blood of his mother,

“Mamma, I will never forget you”

If only …

I could forget for a moment --

storms and the tsunamis,

the impuissant tears of a mother, or

the roar of a helpless forty-five-year-old child,

“Mamma, I can’t breathe!”

If only …

You were to write my life in numbers,

Let me celebrate the remainder --

 listening to the symphony of the breeze,

dancing with the swinging trees,

smelling the fragrance of a flower,

catching a raindrop in my hand,

gazing at a rainbow.

If only ….

I could celebrate the days --

staring at the ocean waves

counting their coming in and going back,

watching children making a snowman,

 pulling out carrots from its nose,

chuckling in their merriment,

playing peek-a-boo, 

stories of angels and fairies,

funny faces and laughing 

until tears roll out of my eyes.

If only ….

I could simply celebrate each day,

and hold my sadness at bay.

---

Setu, April 2022